Competent
by KentuckyWallflower
Summary: Barry and Iris didn't go to elementary school together, and never met until their college Introduction to Chemistry class. They're assigned to be lab partners, but will their friendship grow to be something more? (College AU). R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I might turn this into a multi-chapter fic, but I don't know yet. It depends on if that's something that you guys would be interested in. So if you like this story and want me to continue it, make sure you leave me a review and let me know. :)**

 **...**

 **Prompt: "Wait, I actually have a competent lab partner?"**

 **Characters: Barry Allen/The Flash & Iris West from **_**The Flash**_

… _ **...**_

It was the first day of the new semester and so far, Iris's classes were off to a rocky start. Her goal had been to get as many of her General Education classes out of the way as she could in her first year, and she had been doing great so far. Last semester all of her GenEd's had been either easy, or at the very least mildly entertaining. However, it wasn't looking like she was going to be that lucky this semester. So far today she had already been to Calculus, which had been a truly rousing class in which their professor had droned on for 90 minutes in a monotone voice about how to find the absolute maximum and absolute minimum values of a function. Her notebook contained two full pages of math terms and definitions, graphs, squiggly lines, and numbers that she had already forgotten the meaning of.

Now she was sitting in the lab for her Introduction to Chemistry 101 class, the seats around her already filling up fast. In fact, as Iris looked around the room it appeared that the only seat remaining empty was the one directly to her left. The young girl reached down, an unhappy pout on her face, and pulled her brand new chemistry text book, an unused notebook, and a black ink pen from her bag. It wasn't that she disliked science, it was just that she had never been very good at it. She wouldn't say she was horrible with the subject, but it was far from her best and it had never come easy to her. This was definitely going to be a class that she would need to work hard in, as would be her Calculus class, if she wanted to pass with at least a 'B' average this semester.

Just as she was setting her books down on the desk a short and pudgy woman with graying blond hair walked in. She was carrying a rather heavy looking bag and a large stack of books. Iris assumed that this frazzled looking woman must be the professor, and she was proved to be correct when the woman dumped her belongings down on the desk at the front of the room and collapsed in the chair. A moment later the door swung open again to reveal a tall, thin, brunette young man rushing into the room to avoid being tardy. After taking a quick glance around the room his eyes settled on the empty seat beside her, seeming to realize it was the only available chair left. Hurriedly, he made his way across the room to where she sat and took his seat just as the frazzled woman began speaking.

"Good morning class." Their professor began in a friendly tone of voice. "I'm Dr. Andrea Walksburner, and I'm comfortable with you just calling me Andrea if you are. Okay?"

There was a murmur of consent throughout the room, all of the students seeming to agree that they were in fact comfortable calling their professor by her first name. Iris loved that it was an option to be able to call her teachers by their first name in college. And as of currently, she was already liking this woman more than her Calculus professor.

"Alrighty then." Andrea continued. The woman stood up and shuffled through her bag for a moment before returning her attention back to the class, now holding a paper in her hands. "This is Introduction to Chemistry 101, welcome. Its so good to see so many smiling faces in here this morning. I'm going to take role, not that I need to with the seats so full, but it does help me learn your names. So if I mispronounce a name or you go by something different, let me know. Okay?"

There was another chorus of agreement. The woman nodded, smiling, and looked down at her paper and began calling role. "Okay, Bartholomew Allen?"

The boy sitting beside her raised his hand. "Its Barry, actually." He informed the woman.

" _Barry_ Allen." Andrea amended as she scribbled the correction onto her attendance sheet. "Can't blame you there." she told him peering over her sheet with a friendly smile.

The boy sitting next to her—Barry—smiled at the professors comment as he reached down and gathered his Chemistry book, notebook, pencil, and highlighter from his bag. In that brief exchange between her desk companion and her professor Iris had decided two things. The first being that she was definitely going to like Andrea. The second was that Barry Allen had an insanely cute smile.

"Bartholomew?" She whispered. She hadn't meant to say it out lout, but she had. Fortunately he didn't seem to mind much.

He looked over at her, eyebrows raised and a smirk playing on his lips as he whispered a response. "Hey, don't look at me. I didn't pick the name."

Iris couldn't help but smile at him. "Your last name is so normal though. And then Bartholomew? Where did that come from?"

"No idea." He laughed, and it was an adorable sound. "Personally, I think my parents thought 'Barry' was a cute nick name and just kind of went with it."

She laughed too, deciding that Barry Allen was all around adorable in every possible way. Their teacher had continued taking role through out their conversation, calling out each name and pausing on occasion to make a correction in pronunciation and/or on the sheet. Finally, she reached the end of the attendance sheet.

"And last but certainly not least, Iris West?" The woman at the front of the room called out.

"Here." The girl announced, raising her hand and offering a friendly smile.

The woman paused to put the attendance sheet back in her bag and removed the books she would be needing for class. Barry took the opportunity to lean towards Iris and continue their conversation.

"Now see, that's just not fair." He whispered to her.

"What's not fair?" She asked curiously.

"Your name is Iris. I can't even make fun of you for that name, its too pretty."

He was smiling at her and his smile was infectious. "But I can tease you for yours." She said returning his smile.

"So you see how its not fair?" He laughed softly. Iris laughed too, and was about to respond when Andrea began teaching.

The rest of the class was, as most first days are, relatively easy. Andrea gave them a lot of vocabulary to write down, as well as definitions—pausing periodically to make a joke about something. So far she seemed to be a pretty cool teacher, and for the most part Iris understood all of the vocab notes pretty well—words were something she was good at, after all. That being said, she knew that when it came time to actually apply the vocab to her work in class she would be needing some assistance. She did her best to take good notes and pay attention, though in comparison to Barry she knew it had to be obvious she was bored. The adorable young man sitting beside her seemed to be very intrigued by everything that their professor was saying, and even asked several well thought out questions that seemed to surprise Andrea as much as they had Iris. The teacher answered all of his questions easily of course, but she still seemed taken back each time by the fact that they were being asked by a first year student. When Iris glanced down at his notes, they were twice as detailed as hers were and it quickly became obvious that her desk mate was, in fact, a science nerd. Not that she minded, of course—he was cute, and he seemed to be nice. She figured she would be alright sharing a desk with Barry Allen all semester.

There were about ten minutes left before class ended when Andrea stopped teaching. "You'll be partnered with the person sitting next to you for all of your labs and assignments." She told them, "Which means you'll be spending a lot of time together. So I thought that I'd give you the rest of class to get to know one another and exchange contact information."

With that statement she took a seat in her chair, typing away on her laptop. Iris looked to her left and smiled at her partner. "Well I think we've got the name part covered, Bartholomew 'Barry' Allen."

Barry laughed, turning around in his chair so that he was facing her. "I believe we do, Miss Iris West."

"Then I guess that just leaves us with the sharing contact information and bonding part." she began, smiling and turning around in her own chair to face him.

She pulled her phone out of her back pocket and got it set up to add a new contact before handing the device over to Barry. He retrieved his own phone from his pocket and got it ready before passing it to her. She took it with a smile and they both took a moment to add their names and numbers to each others phone. After receiving her own phone back and handing her lab partner his, she sent him a quick text to make sure it would go through. A second later his phone chimed.

"Hey, its Iris. Smiley face." He read out loud with a laugh. "Got it."

"You know you don't actually have to say 'smiley face' right?" Iris laughed.

"Bu you sent me a smiley face. See?" He said holding up his phone to show her the text.

"Yes, I know I sent you a smiley face." she laughed, playfully pushing his hand down.

Barry turned his attention to his phone and a moment later her own phone chimed in response. She shook her head, smiling at him, as she checked her phone. He had sent her a smiley face of his own. "Okay, I think we've got the contact information part down now too." She laughed.

"Which just leaves the bonding part." He agreed, laughing as he put his phone back into his pocket.

"So," Iris began, putting her own phone away. "You're a science nerd I take it?" She asked him, glancing down at his extensive notes.

"Oh, uh, yea." He told her, reaching up to rub the back of his neck, laughing nervously. "Yea, kind of. I mean, I'm a Forensic Science major, so I guess being a science nerd comes with the territory."

"So what you're saying is that you're good at science."

He looked at her in confusion. "I mean, I enjoy it too, but yea."

"Wait, you mean I actually have a competent lab partner?" She asked laughing.

Barry joined in on her laughter. "Looks like it."

"No, I'm actually being serious." Iris told him through her laughter. "My last lab partner in high school was a total pot head. He came over to my house to work on an assignment and he ended up smoking a joint in my back yard the entire time, leaving me to do all the work. Which come to think of it, was actually pretty brave of him, considering my dad's a cop."

"Don't give him that much credit." Her partner said, somehow managing to keep a straight face. "He wasn't brave, he'd just smoked one too many joints and killed half of his brain cells."

She wasn't sure if it was the comment or the fact that he had managed to say it with such a straight face, but either way she couldn't stop herself from laughing. "Right? That, or he was just really desperate for a fix."

"Something like that." The green eyed boy sitting beside her laughed. "So what about you? What's your major going to be? Or, do you not know yet?"

"No, I do know." Iris told him, smiling proudly. "I'm a Journalism major."

"Really?" He asked her, breaking into a wide grin, his brows raised in interest. She nodded her head in confirmation and he continued. "Wow, that is so cool."

"Thanks." She smiled. "So, as you can probably guess from my major, I'm basically just in this class for the GenEd credit. Not that I hate science or anything, I've just never been that great at it. I'm not terrible either, though. I mean, if I work my ass off I can usually pass the class with a strong 'B,' but its not an easy subject for me."

"It makes sense though." He told her, and she knit her brows together in question, so he continued. "I mean, about science not coming easy for you. If you're a journalism major, then I take it that you're a really good writer, right?"

"Yea. I guess?" She said, still not quite understanding.

"Well, writing and language are viewed as an art form, which would be the creative side of the brain—or the right brain. Math and science are more technical, which would be the analytical side of the brain—or the left brain. So, someone like you would be considered to be right brain dominate."

"And you would be considered left brain dominate?" Iris guessed.

"Right." Barry said. "So, the two sides of the brain are only connected by a relatively thin membrane, so that makes it harder to access the less dominate side of your brain. But just because you're right brain dominate, that doesn't mean you can't think analytically. Its just that its more difficult—and I'm going full nerd on you right now aren't I?"

She could only laugh and nod her head. "A little bit, yea."

"Sorry." He muttered, rubbing the back of his neck again.

"That's okay." She laughed, "Its actually kind of adorable."

Barry didn't seem to be able to find his words to form a response. "I—uh." He got out nervously, his face turning a beautiful shade of red.

Iris shook her head at seeing him so flustered, laughing softly. "Sorry, I uh, I didn't mean—"

"No, no its fine. Its fine. I've just never had anyone tell me that my full on nerd attacks were adorable before." he laughed, his face still blushing.

"You're just, really passionate about it. I like that you're so enthusiastic when you talk about science. I've never seen anyone get so excited about science before."

"Yea, see, that's why I was always labeled as the weird kid in school." He informed her, gathering his books back up as their professor dismissed the class. "Nobody likes the science nerd."

Iris packed her own bag before slinging it over her shoulder and standing. "Hey, I happen to like you just fine so far." She told him, waiting for him so they could walk out together. She really liked talking to Barry, he was easy to talk to and something about it just felt natural to her. "And I think its pretty cool, actually. There is nothing wrong with having a hobby."

He smiled at her standing up, pulling his own bag over his shoulders. She knew he was tall, she could tell as much when he first walked in, but now that he was standing beside her the height difference became even more obvious. If she had to guess, he looked to be about 6'1 or 6'2. Iris, being only 5'4 in height, barely reached his chest. The top of her head was about level with his collar bone, and she couldn't help but feel even shorter standing next to him.

"Well, I happen to like you so far too." He told her smiling, "And I think that would make you the only person who thinks its cool. But thanks."

"Any time." Iris said, returning his smile as they made their way out into the buildings hallway. "So where are you heading now?"

"I have a philosophy class in 10 minutes." Barry exhaled, sounding very annoyed by that fact.

"Oh." She said, laughing at his clear lack of interest in the subject. "French class, for me."

"French class?" He asked her.

"Yea, well, I never took a language in high school, and French seemed like more fun than Spanish or German so."

"Oh." The green eyed young man beside her replied. "Well, have fun then?"

"I'll try." Iris laughed, heading for the exit nearest to the building she needed to go next. "I'll uh, I'll see you later, I guess?"

"Yea, definitely. And if you ever need any help in Chemistry or some other science class, I'd be more than happy to help, if you wanted."

"I might have to take you up on that offer sometime." She told him, smiling. "I'll see you Barry."

"Bye Iris." She heard him laugh behind her as she turned and went outside. Iris smiled to herself as she walked to her next class, and found that it was incredibly difficult to clear the adorable green eyed Barry Allen from her mind—quite possibly because she simply didn't want to.

… **...**

 **A/N: Tah dah! What did y'all think? Did you like it? Do you want me to continue this story? Let me know in a review!**

 **I know I said I was going to be writing my other prompt request in a certain order, but I just saw this AU meeting idea on Tumblr and fell in love with it. I was feeling pretty inspired, so I wrote this. If I do make this a multi-chapter fic though, I plan to finish up my other prompt request first. So it may be awhile before I update this story again, but I do hope to be able to continue it if that's something that you guys are interested in. I love you all! :)**

 **XOXO,**

 **WallFlower.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Okay, you guys asked for it, so here you go! I'm so glad y'all liked this story. I've loved reading every single one of your reviews. When I say your reviews inspire me to keep writing, I'm not joking. I actually screen shot them on my phone and go back an look at them on days when I'm feeling down and look at them to cheer myself up. So thank you for all of the love and positive reviews. I hope you like this chapter just as much as you did the last one.**

 **...**

She walked back to her dorm room with a smile on her face that afternoon. The day had started out rough, but it had quickly turned around once she met Barry. Talking to him had instantly lifted her mood and she had genuinely enjoyed her French class, which she found surprising.

"Bonjour!" Iris said as she swung the door to her dorm room open, greeting her room mate with a bright smile.

"Hey!" Linda said, glancing at Iris over her English textbook. "I take it somebody liked her French class."

"Yea, I did." She laughed, shutting the door behind her. "Though I might be saying something entirely different by the time the semester is over with."

Iris's best friend and room mate was laying on top of her bed, flipping through the pages of her book as she studied. "I take it Calculus and Chemistry were boring as hell though, right?"

"Calculus was a nightmare." The girl agreed as she threw her bag down at the foot of her bed before plopping down on the mattress. "Chemistry was, surprisingly, not so bad actually."

"Please tell me that you did not discover some new found love of science." Linda said flatly.

"If by 'new found love of science' you mean do I have a crush on my _adorable_ new lab partner, then yes. I do have a new found love of science."

At the words "adorable" and "lab partner" her room mates interest seemed to increase by ten fold. Iris loved her best friend, but she had always been just a bit crazy when it came to boys—she was always willing to put herself out there to meet someone and she had no trouble with flirting mercilessly at parties.

Linda slammed her text book closed and shot straight up, giving Iris her full attention. "Adorable how? What's his name? What does he look like? And do you know his major? Because these are all crucial things that you should be considering right now."

The girl laughed at her friends enthusiasm and seriousness as she answered her questions. "Just, adorable. His name is Barry Allen. He's really tall, like 6'1'' or 6'2'' I think. And he's kind of thin and lanky, messy brown hair, beautiful green eyes—insanely cute smile. _And,_ he is—get this—a Forensic Science major."

"So another words, he's adorable in a nerdy way, and he's smart." The girl sitting across from her summarized.

"I guess you could call it a nerdy cute." Iris laughed. "Hey, I don't know about you, but I'm starving. How about we get some lunch."

"Sure, yea. Sounds good." Linda said, standing and grabbing her purse with a smirk. "And maybe while we eat you can tell me even more about the adorable nerd that is Mr. Barry Allen."

...

"Man I am telling you, this GenEd science class is gonna be the bomb!" Cisco said while pulling a ten dollar bill from his wallet. "I mean, if you're into engineering and programming anyway."

Barry laughed at his best friends enthusiasm. The two room mates stood in the student union, waiting in line to get their food. "What's so great about it?" He asked, only half paying attention to the conversation. His mind was still focused on his new lab partner, Iris West.

"Well for starters, we get to learn how to take a freaking mother board from a computer apart and then rebuild it. How awesome is that?" He said reaching the front of the line. Cisco ordered three chicken strips with curly fries and a pop before paying and stepping out of line and waiting for his order to be called.

"I guess that's pretty cool, if you're into that kind of stuff." Barry told his friend. He ordered his food as well—the same as Cisco's—and paid for the meal before following Cisco over to wait for his order.

"Uh, yea! Its ridiculously cool." His best friend laughed. "We're going to learn how to program a little bit too. Which is so dope!"

"That sounds like it'll be a great class for you then dude."

"I know, its perfect right?" The boy with long hair laughed. "What about your classes so far? What did you have again today? Chemistry and Philosophy?"

"What ever you do, do not ever take a Philosophy class. I was barely able to keep my eyes open. And I'm pretty sure that the kid behind me actually started snoring."

His friend actually snorted mid laugh. "Noted. And the Chem. class?"

"Chemistry was a good class." Barry answered, not able to keep himself from smiling at the memory of the beautiful girl he had sat next to. "The professor seems okay so far, and my lab partner that I got paired with seems nice. As of right now, I think I'm really going to like this class."

What he didn't tell his friend was that his lab partner was probably the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, and that she was the real reason he was going to enjoy the class so much. Not to say that the subject didn't interest him, because he was incredibly interested in chemistry and all other sciences. But being able to get to spend more time with Iris and get to know her better was going to be even more enjoyable. When Barry first saw her he thought that he didn't have a snowballs chance in hell at even getting her to talk to him, and then when he realized the last available seat was next to her he figured he was totally screwed. How was he suppose to focus on anything when she was sitting so close to him, and he was so nervous due to her close proximity.

But then she had actually started talking to him. She initiated a conversation, and once the conversation got started he felt himself immediately begin to relax. As beautiful as Iris was, she was still just a person—an incredibly nice person with the cutest smile and laugh in the whole world. As class continued he relaxed even more, little by little. Then the teacher had told them they would be lab partners and he couldn't help the jolt of excitement that ran through him at the idea of getting to spend more time with her outside of class. Talking to her was easy, and it didn't take long for him to begin joking with her, and soon enough he somehow found himself telling her about how he had always been labeled as the weird kid in school. Barry had regretted telling her that part of his past as soon as the words were out, but she quickly had reassured him by telling him that she liked him and thought that it was cool he was into science—she had even said that she thought his full on nerd ramblings were adorable. What person, let alone a beautiful girl like Iris, would ever say something like that? Now he was finding it nearly impossible to stop thinking about her.

...

Closing her car door Iris hit the lock button before jogging towards the buildings glass door. She was in dire need of coffee. Nine in the morning was ridiculously early to have a class, but at least it was an English class—College Writing, to be specific—so at the very least it was a class that she would excel in. As she pushed open the door to the coffee shop she saw a familiar tall and slender figure standing in the back of the line. Smiling, she made her way over to stand behind him. "Hey stranger."

Barry turned around, his lips curving up into a dazzling smile. "Hey Iris. And stranger? Really, come on. What's it been? A whole day?"

"Something like that." She laughed. He wasn't wrong, it was only yesterday that she had first met the science nerd in their chemistry class. "Hey, by the way, how did that philosophy class go yesterday?"

"Let's just say that if I'm ever not able to sleep, I'll call my professor and have him give me a lecture on Aristotle and Socrates. I would be in dream land in no time."

"That bad?" The journalism major asked with a laugh.

"You have no idea." He responded, laughing with her. "What about your French class?"

"Très bien." Iris answered. He raised his brows in question so she translated for him. "Very well. My French class went very well. I actually really enjoyed it, though I might be feeling differently by the time midterms roll around."

"Well at least one of us liked our class." Barry laughed. "And hopefully you'll still like it after midterms."

They moved up in the line, and after a brief pause in the conversation he spoke again. "I take it you have a class this morning?" He asked her. "Or do you always wake up and stop for coffee at 8 am?"

"College Writing at nine." She replied. "You?"

He looked at her skeptically as he responded. "College Writing at nine. You don't have Professor Robert Clark do you?"

"Actually, yea, I do." She replied. "Are we in the same class again?"

"I think so." The tall young man laughed. "I swear, I'm not planning this."

"Chemistry class, this morning's meeting here, and now a College Writing class." Iris said laughing. "I am officially convinced that the universe _really_ wants us to be friends."

"Seems that way." He said, smiling. As Barry reached the front of the line he stepped behind her to let Iris go a head of him. "Uh, you can order first."

"You sure?" She asked him, and at his nod she placed her order. "Large Americano, double shot of expresso, and a blueberry muffin."

"Name?" The barista asked as he grabbed the large coffee cup and a sharpie marker.

"Iris." She answered as she opened up her purse and began digging for her wallet.

She was just about to pull out her card and ask for a total when she heard Barry's voice come from behind her as he placed his own order. As she looked up he was telling the barista his name and passing his credit card over the counter to pay.

"Barry Allen, what do you think you're doing?" Iris asked him.

"Buying my new friend a cup of coffee and some breakfast." He replied slowly as he tucked his card back into his wallet before putting it away.

"I'm paying you back later." She informed her lab partner.

"Nope."

"Fine." Iris said stepping aside to wait for her order, "But I'm buying the next time. And don't even try to argue me on this."

The tall young man gave her a crooked smile, letting a soft laugh emanate from his lips. "Okay, Iris West, it's a deal."

She returned his smile, and the pair fell into a comfortable silence as they waited for their orders. All around them the shop was filled with the chatter of customers, dishes clanking, and the grinding of the coffee machines. Iris checked the time on her phone and saw that they still had plenty of time. Taking a deep breath she could smell the coffee beans and the baked goods in the air, and with in a few minutes she heard her name being called. After collecting her order she decided to wait for Barry since she had the time so that they could walk out together. She really did love talking to him.

"Wow." He said laughing, the sound of his voice pulling her from her thoughts. "That is a really big cup and a lot of caffeine for such a small girl."

"So I _might_ have _a slight_ caffeine addiction." She told him, giving him her best innocent and playful smile.

"Might?" He repeated, a teasing tone evident in his voice. "And slight?"

"Okay, fine." She amended, "I _definitely_ have _a major_ caffeine addiction."

"There you go." Barry laughed in agreement as his name was called.

He picked up his order and headed towards the front door, Iris walking along side of him. He pushed the glass door opened and stepped outside into the sunlight.

"So where are you parked?" She asked with the intent of walking him to his car. Anything to squeeze in a few extra minutes with Barry Allen.

"Uh, I'm not really parked anywhere." The green eyed man informed her. "I don't actually have a car."

The journalism major nodded, flicking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "So you were just planning to walk to the Language building then?"

"Yea." He said slowly, nodding in conformation of his answer.

"Nope." Iris replied, digging out her car keys. "Follow me."

"Hu? Why?" Barry appeared to be baffled.

She simply laughed as she walked in the direction of her royal blue car. "You know, for someone who's such a genius, you're really not all that smart are you? I'm giving you a ride, you big dork."

"And what if I don't want a ride?" He challenged, following her to the car anyway. "Maybe I like walking. Its good exercise you know."

"You are my friend." She told him as she reached the vehicle, stopping and spinning around to face him. "You just bought me coffee and a blueberry muffin." She paused to hit the unlock button.

"And we are both going to the exact same class in the exact same building at the exact same time. We might as well car pool. So you, Bartholomew Allen are going to get your little ass in this car and accept the ride whether you like it or not."

She opened the passenger door and gestured for him to get in, laughing. "In you go."

"Somebody's bossy in the mornings." He teased her, returning her laugh as he got in the passenger seat of the car.

"I haven't had my morning coffee yet." Iris shot back with a grin, closing the door and walking around to the drivers side. Getting inside herself, she buckled up and put the keys in the ignition to start the car and began driving the two of them to class, the new friends making small talk along the way.

...

 **A/N: So yea. I know this chapter is shorter than the last one, and I'm sorry for that. I'm probably going to be slow with updating this for a while because of classes and work, but I do plan for there to be more. I'd love to hear from you guys, so send me some reviews and love. Mwah!**

 **XOXO,**

 **Wallflower.**


	3. Chapter 3

The first time that Linda met Barry, Iris could have killed her best friend. She loved her best friend, but that girl did not have a subtle bone in her body. It was the end of the second week of classes, and they had been given their first out of class assignment. The assignment was relatively simple. Each pair was given a sheet with a list of the vocab terms on one side of the page, and the definitions on the other. They were suppose to match the terms to the corresponding definition, then research a real-world example for each term and briefly describe how it represented it.

"Think of it as scavenger hunt, only a little less fun." Andrea had told the class as she gave out the assignment. "A less fun scavenger hunt with words."

Apparently, their professor intentionally made the first assignment easy under the pretenses of wanting them to get use to working with each other as well as familiarizing themselves with the vocabulary terms. Even though some of the other students seemed to feel a bit uncomfortable with the idea of meeting outside of class, neither Barry nor Iris had any objections. In fact, since their first meeting, the two of them had become pretty close—or as close as two people could get with in just two weeks of knowing each other anyway. Their conversations had always been kept light and playful, filled with banter and friendly teasing, but before and after both classes they had together—and during class if the opportunity presented itself—they always found themselves easily drifting back into a conversation.

Now, on a Thursday afternoon, the lab partners sat across from each other at a table in the school library. They both had a laptop set up in front of them for research, since they had finished the matching portion a while ago. The research part was proving to take a little more time because not only did they have to find the examples, but they also had to pause on several occasions so that Barry could explain to Iris why the chosen example applied to the term. When it came to science, her adorable lab partner definitely had the upper hand. Even though she seemed to get lost here and there, he kept his patience when explaining and never seemed bothered by having to slow down for her—a fact which Iris greatly appreciated. They had gotten about have of the research done and were about to call it a day, with the intensions of meeting after class tomorrow, when an incredibly enthusiastic Linda plopped down into the seat beside her.

"Hey girl!" The petite brunette grinned at her friend as she took a seat before noticing the tall young man sitting across from them. "Oh hello. Iris, who is this?"

"Linda, this is my lab partner Barry Allen. Barry, this is my best friend and room mate Linda Park."

"Oh! So _you're_ Barry Allen." Linda said smiling brightly at Barry, holding out a hand for him. "Its nice to finally meet you."

"Uh, yea. You too." He replied, taking her hand and accepting the gesture.

"I've been hearing a lot about you. Iris talks about you a lot. Ow!" She bent down, rubbing the sore spot on her shin where Iris had kicked her, with a pout.

"Okay." Linda added as she stood up, pulling her purse over her shoulder. "I can tell when I'm not wanted. I'll see you later Iris."

"Okay, see you tonight." The journalist said as she waved off her friend.

As Linda was leaving, she paused behind Iris's chair, whispering loudly into her ear. "He's cute. If you don't ask him out soon, I will."

"Thank you, for yelling into my ear Linda." Iris deadpanned. "I really appreciated that."

"It wasn't that loud, was it?" She glanced up and looked to Barry. "You didn't hear what I said, did you?"

"I'll pretend that I didn't if you want me to." He answered. He was trying in vein to hide his face behind his hands, and he appeared to be blushing.

"There. You see? No harm no foul." The brunette announce with a nervous smile as she turned to leave. "See you tonight."

"Tomorrow, I'm going to be putting up fliers for a new room mate." Iris said with a sarcastic laugh once it was just the two of them again as she began to pack up her bag. "Because tonight, I'm going to kill her. Sorry about that, by the way."

"Its fine." Said a still blushing Barry Allen. "Don't worry about it."

"Okay." She said pulling her bag onto her shoulders. "I'll see you in class tomorrow?"

"Yea, definitely."

"Alright, I'll see you later then." She said as she turned and began walking towards the exit.

"Hey, Iris, hold on a second." Barry called from behind her.

As she turned around again she saw him move to stand up, a nervous expression on his face. He took a few tentative steps in her direction to close some of the distance between them. Wringing his hands together he took a deep nervous breath before slowly exhaling.

"Would uh, would you maybe wanna do something this weekend? Like, something not involving a class? I mean, there's suppose to be a carnival on Saturday, or maybe we could just see a movie, or go out for lunch or something, or we—"

"Are you trying to ask me out on a date, Barry Allen?" Iris asked him, browns raised and a soft smile playing on her face.

"Uh, I'm pretty sure I'm failing at it, but I'm trying to, yea." He told her, giving a soft, awkward laugh. "So..."

"So..." Iris began, smiling. "I think that going to a carnival sounds like a pretty great first date."

"Yea?" Barry asked, his face morphing into an expression that was a mix of joy, relief, and shock all at once. "Alright, so just to clarify, that is a yes, right?"

She couldn't help but give a soft laugh, he looked awfully cute when he was nervous. "Yes, Barry. That's a yes."

"Okay. So, I'll meet you there then? Five o'clock sound good?"

"Five o'clock sounds perfect. I'll meet you by the ticket booth?" She asked smiling.

"Yea, sounds like a plan." Barry said, returning her smile.

"I'll see you Saturday then." Iris said with a smile, giving him a quick wave before leaving the library.

"See you Saturday." He said, smiling softly as he watched her walk away.


	4. Chapter 4

Barry stared at his reflection in the mirror, sighing heavily. "Well, this is as good as its gonna get." He said at last as he turned around to face his best friend. "Tell me the truth. How stupid do I look?"

"Honestly, dude, you don't look that bad." Cisco told him. "Except the sleeves. Why are they only pushed half up?" The young man reached out to attempt to tug his friends sleeves down, but Barry stepped away.

"Linda said girls find it attractive? I don't know why, but I'm clueless when it come to girls. I'm trusting her on this one."

"What's that logic about?" Cisco asked.

"I dunno." He replied.

 _Barry had been leaving his Philosophy class that Friday when Linda stopped him in the hall. She had been stepping off of the elevator when she spotted him exiting the class room and called his name to gain his attention. At first he just smiled at her and said hello, offering her a friendly wave, but then she continued the conversation. Apparently she had heard about the date he had planned with Iris and she wanted to be certain that he was going to make the night special—and that apparently included his planned wardrobe._

 _"What are you wearing for your date tomorrow night?" The petite girl asked as she fell in step at his side._

 _"I dunno." Barry responded. "I haven't really thought about it. Why?"_

 _"Because I'm helping Iris plan her outfit, and I want to make sure that you look nice too."_

 _"Like, dress shirt and tie nice?"_

 _"No, dummy." Linda cut in. "But like," sighing, the girl paused mid sentence, stepping in front of the taller boy forcing him to stop mid step. "Okay, do you have any green cloths? Like a nice sweater or something?"_

 _"Maybe? I mean, I think so, yea."_

 _"Perfect." She told him. "Make sure you wear it tomorrow."_

 _He looked at her, lack of understanding written all over his face as he gave a soft awkward laugh. "What, are you color coordinating us or something?"_

 _"What?" His dates best friend asked with a laugh. "No, of course not. That would be stupid for a first date. No. Your eyes are green dumb ass. The green sweater will make your eyes pop." She mimed a popping gesture with her hands as she spoke._

 _"Oh." Barry muttered softly. "You're giving me fashion tips."_

 _Linda rolled her eyes. "And make sure you push the sleeves up to your elbows, until it gets colder anyway."_

 _"Hu? Why?"_

 _"It's a thing that girls find attractive on guys." The girl said animatedly, bobbing her head as she spoke. "I don't know why, it just is. Just trust me on this one. And have fun tomorrow night."_

"I swear," Cisco laughed, shaking his head. "I will never understand woman."

"Yea, well, that makes two of us." Barry agreed with a laugh, giving his friend a gentle push as he headed out for his date.

…...

"Are you sure this isn't too casual for a first date?" Iris asked her room mate. "I feel like I should be wearing a dress or something."

"A dress Iris? Really? You're going to a carnival, okay? Not the Carnegie Hall."

"I don't mean a ball gown, Linda." The journalist laughed with an eye roll. "But are you sure I shouldn't be wearing a sun dress or a Maxi-dress or something?"

 _When Iris had returned to their dorm after working on the assignment with Barry, Linda had been waiting there for her. Her best friend had been perched in her desk chair, a sheepish look on her face._

 _"Okay, be honest." Linda began. "How pissed off are you?"_

 _"I was planning on killing you tonight and posting the 'room mate wanted' fliers in the morning." Iris started, and her best friend winced. "But then he asked me out, so I think I've now down-graded to just wanting to break your nose."_

 _"Wait, he asked you out?" Linda asked excitedly, a proud grin making its way onto her face. "You're welcome."_

 _"Wow." Iris deadpanned. "Modest much?"_

 _"Okay, okay, I know." Her room mate was still smiling, practically bouncing in her seat. "But seriously? He asked you out? When's the date? Where are you going? And how did he ask you? I want to know everything!"_

 _Iris smiled, sitting on her bed and finding herself in an easy conversation with her best friend to fill her in, and just like that, things were back to normal between the two of them again._

"Iris." Linda said, fixing her friend with a stern glare that meant business. "You look amazing. And, in those jeans? If he doesn't look at your ass at least once tonight, you should seriously consider re-evaluating just how into you he really is."

Laughing, Iris rolled her eyes and returned her attention to the mirror as she pulled her hair back into a high pony tail, leaving a few loose strands to fall and frame her face. She wore a pair of stone-washed high-waist jeans—which Iris had to admit, did wonders for her figure—and a thin black long-sleeved shirt. The shirt had a low-cut neck line and three black buttons sewn into the fabric for decoration. Over her shirt a white and black Aztec-print cardigan hung loosely around her slender yet curvy frame. She had a pair of dark brown soft leather hiking boots on her feet, the ankles of her jeans tucked neatly into them, and a gold chain with a circular amethyst pendant hung from her neck. Her makeup was done in natural hues—her mascara, eyeliner, and deep red rose color tinted lips the only indications that she was even wearing any.

"Are you sure I look okay for a first date?" Iris asked one final time as she grabbed her phone.

"Yes!" Her best friend shouted in excitement. "Now get the hell out of here and go on your date already. Have fun, break some hearts, you've got this girl."

"Okay." She said. Smiling at her room mate, Iris made her way out the door. Behind her she could hear Linda calling, "And I want to hear details when you get back missy!" as she left.

...

When Iris arrived at the fair grounds that evening Barry was already there waiting for her, which she found surprising considering he had a bad habit of being late for class almost every day. He was wearing a pair of dark denim jeans, black Converse, and a fuzzy green cardigan over what appeared to be a black t-shirt. He had, impossibly, somehow found a way to be even more adorable. Smiling as her eyes found her date for the evening standing among the crowd, she made her way over to him. "Hey stranger." She said out loud as she got within his hearing range.

"Iris, hi." Barry breathed, looking her up and down. "You look amazing, Iris. Wow."

"Thanks Barry." She smiled. "You're looking extra adorable tonight."

He laughed nervously, a blush creeping onto his face as he reached a hand up to rub the back of his neck. "Uh, thanks. I um, I bought the tickets already, if you wanted to head in?"

"Absolutely." Iris beamed.

Barry made a sweeping gesture with his arms towards the entrance. "After you, Miss. West."

With a smile on her face, she began walking towards the entrance. As she walked past him his gaze shifted, only for a moment, to admire her figure and to appreciate the way her outfit accentuated all of her curves perfectly. She glanced behind her and caught the gesture, however quick his action might have been, and smiled to herself. It appeared that Linda had been right about the outfit after all.

"Okay, ladies choice." Barry announced once they were inside the gate. "Where to first?"

"Wow, such a smooth talker, Barry Allen. Who knew?" Iris teased.

Her companion rolled his eyes. "Ha ha. Very funny." He told her. "But seriously, where to?" He was laughing by the time he finished talking.

"Uh, how about we start with some food? That way we won't have to worry about stopping the fun later when we get hungry."

"That sounds like a good plan to me." Barry said with a smile as he began walking in the direction of the food stands. "Any preference on the food?"

Together, they made their way to one of the booths and ordered there food, two orders of loaded fries, hot dogs, and iced teas. After that they found an empty table and sat down to eat, easily falling into a conversation. They kept it light and teasing at first, with their usual back and forth banter, until Iris asked a question that lead to a much more serious conversation than they had ever had before.

"Why forensic science?" She asked him curiously. "You're so smart, Barry. And there's plenty of fields in science that you could have picked. What made you choose forensics?"

It was a simple question, and she had been curious why he chose that career path over any other. The answer she got was something that she wasn't expecting.

"My parents." He began, and she could see just a little bit of the light in his green eyes fade away as he seemed to recall the memory. "My mom was killed when I was eleven. They arrested my dad, but he didn't kill her. I was there, I know he didn't do it. But the evidence was pretty damming, and they all saw a kid trying to cope with what happened by making up stories."

He paused. And looked down at the table, lifting his shoulders in a gentle shrug. "I guess I just want to find a way to help people, so no one ends up in a foster system if they don't have to. Maybe a part of me still hopes that I can prove my dad innocent somehow too? And I have no clue why I'm telling you all of this. This is so not a conversation to have on a first date."

He let out a soft, forced laugh. Iris subconsciously reached across the table to take his hand, every fiber of her being wanting to take the hurt look from his eyes and bring some of the light back.

"I had no idea, Barry." She gave his hand a gentle squeeze, and after giving their intertwined hands a quick glance, he looked up to meet her gaze. Iris was rewarded by a soft smile gracing his lips.

"I know you didn't." Barry told her. "It's not really the kind of thing you tell someone when you first meet them, you know?"

Iris nodded, her hand never leaving his, and at her nod he continued, trying to make the conversation light again. "What about you Iris? Why did you pick journalism?"

"I'm a good writer, for starters." She told him, sensing that he was hoping to lighten the conversation and doing her best to respect that. Her comment earned her another smile and she continued. "I don't really know. I guess I've always just loved the idea of being able to inspire people, to share stories of hope. To be able to give a voice to the voiceless. Sorry, I know how corny that must sound." She finished with a soft laugh.

He quickly shook his head. "No, not at all. And you can be pretty damn inspiring when you wanna be. And you're an amazing writer, Iris, and an amazing person. You're going to be a great journalist, and I think you're going to inspire a lot of people."

She gave him a bright but gentle smile, and only hoped it was enough to show him just how much his words had meant to her. "Thank you. That means so much to me. Especially coming from you."

He smiled at her, and transitioned into a new conversation, making some stupid joke that made her laugh. Her laugh had to be one of the most beautiful sounds he had ever heard in his life. He'd do almost anything to her hear her laugh like that. The rest of the meal continued in the same way, Barry and Iris taking turns making some stupid joke just so they could hear each other laugh. As they were throwing their trash away once they finished eating she looked to her date and said, "Alright, it's your turn to pick. What's next?"

Barry took a moment to look around at the booths near by before deciding. He pointed to one of the games, the one where you had to shoot a water gun at a target to win a prize. "That one? I'm a terrible shot, but it's worth a try, right?"

Iris smiled at him, he really was adorable. "Well lucky for you, I'm a great shot. So definitely worth a try."

He returned her smile and lead her in the direction of the booth. When he got there he handed the worker their tickets, and the man explained the rules of the game. In short, they were suppose to aim at the target and the first one to make the bobber reach the top won.

"Good luck." Iris said as she picked up her water gun and took aim.

"You too." Barry said as the bell rang, signaling the start of the game.

They both took aim and began firing their water guns, and it soon became obvious to Barry that Iris hadn't been kidding when she said she was a great shot. She expertly hit her trigger button, never missing the center ring of the target. Barry was so impressed by her skills that the distraction only made his already terrible aim that much worse. Iris noticed her companion's lack of skill as well as the adorable pout on his face each time he missed the target. It was so adorable in fact that it almost became a distraction. _Almost._ She had to force herself not to glance in his direction for even a second or she knew that she would loose her focus and miss a shot. It didn't take long for her bobber to reach the top and the game to end.

"This round goes to the little lady!" the booth worker announced. "Pick any prize off the top row, or you can play again."

"You weren't kidding when you said you were a great shot." Barry laughed.

"My dad's a cop, remember?" She told him. "He started teaching me how to shoot a gun when I was twelve. Come on, let's go again. I'll give you some pointers." Iris poked his biceps as she finished.

"Okay." He laughed, handing the worker another ticket and picking the water gun back up. "I'm open to learning a few new things."

She stepped closer to him so that she was pressed against his side, and she heard his intake of breath at the gesture, and saw the slight blush appear on his face—apparently he had not been expecting her to press herself so close to him. Just as she predicted, when she reached around him to position his hands on the gun, his blush deepened. She couldn't help the small grin that crept on to her face at that fact. She placed one of his hands on the bottom of the water gun for better support , since his arms seemed to be unsteady and shaky.

"Okay, hold your arms out like this." She positioned his arms and hands so that he could hold the water gun more steadily. "Good. Now focus on the little target over there, take a deep breath, relax your shoulders a little more, and then aim and shoot."

She kept her hands over his as the bell rang and he fired. It wasn't perfect by any means, but it was better. At least he managed to hit the target more and cause the bobber to raise up. When the timer ran out the bobber was around the half way mark. "That was better." She Iris told him, keeping her voice positive. "Remind me to take you to an actual shooting range sometime so you can practice."

He crossed his eyes and raised his brows rather comically, causing her to laugh, before responding. "Yea, I'm not really sure that's the best idea, considering my aim, but sure."

"Nah. You'll do fine." She smiled and leaned into him, bumping her shoulder against his as she gestured to the prize rack. "Okay, you pick. Which one?"

Barry surveyed the prizes, all of them stuffed animals of various kinds. After a moment his eyes settled on an extremely fluffy black teddy bear and he smiled, pointing at it. "What about that one?"

"That one is perfect." Iris said, smiling brightly. "I'll take that one." She told the worker, and the man reached up to bring it down before passing it to her.

Once the bear was placed in her arms she hugged it against her chest, smiling an adorable child-like smile that made Barry's heart melt. "Good choice." She told him as they walked away, after thanking the worker.

"I'm glad you approve." He teased with a laugh. "Alright, your turn to pick. Where to next?"

Iris only smiled, taking his hand in hers and lacing her fingers through his, leading him to their next destination. "You'll see."

With in a few minutes, after some casual teasing and small talk, the pair reached the ferris wheel on the far end of the carnival. "You're not afraid of heights are you, Barry?" She asked him.

"Definitely not." He replied with a playful smirk. "Are you?"

"Not even a little bit." Iris smiled back.

After passing their tickets to the worker the couple found themselves a carriage and took their seats. Another worker came around to make sure all of the carriages were locked and secure before the ride moved up to allow more passengers to board.

"So," Barry began. "I saw Linda in the hall yesterday in the language and cultures building. Is it safe to say that you won't be in search of a new room mate then?"

"You know, I was planning to kill her and put up fliers for a new room mate the next day," Iris began sarcastically, but then after a moments pause became slightly more serious. "But then you asked me out, and my joy kind of won out over my anger." Another brief pause, and she playfully added, "we downgraded to just a broken nose."

Laughing, he shook his head. "Well to be honest, I'm still just surprised you actually 'yes' when I asked you out, so…"

"Why were you so surprised?" She asked seriously, looking up at him, her big brown eyes meeting his soft green ones. "Barry, you're adorable. And your sweet, and funny, and you're insanely smart. It's so easy for me to talk to you, and you always make me laugh. I really like spending time with you. Why wouldn't I say yes?"

"Are you forgetting that whole 'science-nerd-nobody-likes-the-weird-kid' conversation from the first day of class?" He asked, giving her a sad, almost bitter smile—as if just the memory of those days in his past when he was bullied was enough to break him.

And she couldn't help it. In that moment, he looked so small and so pained, that all she wanted was to fix it for him, to put that adorable smile back on his face. Adjusting the teddy bear between the two of them so that she wouldn't lose it, Iris turned to face him, and reaching up she placed a gentle hand on either side of his face. Looking directly into his eyes she repeated her words from that first day of class, the ones she had said when he first told her about being labeled the weird kid in school, and nobody liking the weird kid.

"I happen to like you just fine, Barry Allen." She told him gently, before leaning forward and pressing her lips softly against his.

The kiss had been rather chaste and only lasted for a second or two, and she had taken him by surprise so he hadn't kissed back. But when she pulled away to look at him again, he had doe eyes, and his dazed look slowly morphed to one of surprised joy. Once again, she couldn't help it. Before when she kissed him, she had been wanting to reassure him that she genuinely liked him, and to put a smile back on his face. Now, the smile that had appeared on his face was so adorable all she wanted to do was kiss him again, to kiss his smiling lips. And so she did. Returning the smile, Iris leaned forward and gently pressed her lips to his again. This time, Barry kissed her back. One of his hands came to rest on her waist, just above her hip, as he kissed her back. Again, the kiss hadn't lasted long. But it had been sweet and tender, and for now that was enough for the both of them. It was obvious that they both cared for each other, and neither of them wanted to push things too far too quickly and mess things up. The kiss had been gentle, and almost shy, but that didn't mean it meant any less to either of them. If anything, Iris thought it might have meant more.

As they broke apart they both just sat their looking at the other for a moment, smiling in blissful happiness. After returning the teddy bear to her lap, securing it there with one hand, Iris took Barry's hand with her other, lacing her fingers through his. She leaned her head against his shoulder, and felt his breath against her face as he leaned his head against hers while they watched the night sky from the top of the ferris wheel.

…

"I thought you said you were a good shot?" Barry laughed as they walked up the stairs that lead to his dorm. Iris had driven him back to the dorms since he didn't have a car, and insisted on walking him up to his door.

"Yea, with a gun." She shot back laughing. "Guns and basketballs are two very different things. Outside of boxing, yoga, and running, I have zero athletic ability."

"Yea, well that's more athletic ability that me." He told her. "All I've got is bowling, and I'm not even sure most people would consider that a sport."

"Well then we're just going to have to go bowling sometime, because I happen to be pretty damn good at it myself."

"Wait. So you can bowl, but you can't shoot a basketball?" He laughed.

"Hey there, Mr. Smarty Pants, you can't shoot a basketball either, so I don't wanna hear it." Iris teased.

"Yea, okay." Barry laughed. "Fair enough. But, I do have a question."

"Yea? And what's that?"

He stopped walking as they approached his door, and turned to face her. "You've mention us going out again twice now tonight, and kissed me four times. So does that mean I get a second date with you? Because, I would really like one."

He seemed nervous, but less nervous than he had been when he asked her out the first time, so she smiled at him, planning to tease him a bit before giving an answer. "I think you've miss counted. I didn't kiss you four times tonight."

His brown knit in confusion as he thought back to each one of the kisses they shared, recounting. "No, you did. Twice on the ferris wheel, once at the funnel cake booth, and once on the way here in the ca—"

He was cut off by her lips pressing against his. "Five times." She whispered as she pulled away, smiling up at him.

"Five time." He repeated, his voice cracking from nerves ever so slightly, causing her to giggle.

"You really are adorable when you're nervous, Barry Allen. Did you know that?" Iris asked him, before giving her answer to his question. "Yes, I would love to go out on a second date with you."

"Yea?" He whispered back, an adorably goofy smile plastered on his face. At her nod of confirmation, he began rambling nervously. "Okay, great. Yea, I'll text you. Or call you, I'll call you. Or no, I'll do both. I will text and call you later."

Iris laughed softly at his ramblings, and leaned up to place a gentle kiss on his cheek. "Good night Bear." She said with a smile before turning and walking down the stair, heading back to her car. Unknowingly, she had just given him a nickname that she would continue to use for him the rest of their lives.


	5. Chapter 5

It has been a few months since Barry and Iris' first date, and the two of them had been virtually inseparable since. In the last three months they had gone out on a date every single weekend, and met at the coffee shop on campus every Tuesday and Thursday morning to pick up their coffee before heading to their English class together. As promised, Barry had texted Iris later that night.

" _ **Had fun tonight.**_ _ **:)**_ _ **Thanks for saying yes."**_

It had taken less than a minute for to respond. _"Me too._ _:)_ _Bowling next time?"_

" _ **Haha You're so on."**_ He had sent back. He had called her the following day to set a day and time for a second day.

And as planned, Iris and Barry had gone to the bowling alley the following weekend for their second date. It didn't take them long to discover just how competitive they both were once the game got started, and the night brought a lot of teasing insults as the game continued. By the end of the evening, Barry had won the friendly competition two to three. Iris had insisted they have a rematch at some point later on. Four bowling dates later, and the couple was tied two to two for date night wins.

Iris had also suggested to take him to a shooting range to show him how to aim, but on the few occasions she had suggested it, he had refused.

"Knowing my aim I'll end up shooting a squirrel or something." He had laughed in response to her offers.

Eventually, she had told him that they were going to the movies as a front and driven him to the range with without telling him until arrival. With an eye roll he had agreed to give it a try, and after about an hour he had only managed to hit the target's edge. Thirty minutes later and she had finally given up and decided to take him to an actual movie, still insisting that she wasn't done trying for good—just for the day.

Now, three months later as she was walking to class, Barry ran to her side. It was pouring rain, as was typical for Spring in Central City, and she hadn't had an umbrella with her. She hadn't anticipated anything more than a light drizzle. Fortunately, he had been prepared for the down pour, and while she had nothing more than a green hooded jacket, her boyfriend had a large black umbrella big enough to cover the both of them if they stood close enough. Luckily for her, he had spotted her walking across campus.

"Hey handsome." She smiled, looking up at him as he fell into place beside her. "Thanks for the cover."

"Any time." Barry told her, wrapping his free arm around her shoulders and placing a soft kiss on the top of her head.

In the beginning of their relationship, she would teasingly call him "stranger," but she had changed it to "handsome" about a month ago. After they first started sleeping together, "Hey stranger" just didn't seem to fit anymore. And besides, he really was handsome, in an adorable sort of way.

Iris looped her arm around her boyfriend's waist and leaned herself against him. She placed her free hand over his, partly to help him support the large umbrella that he held, and partly because she wanted an excuse to touch him. "You know, I am really going to miss you over spring break while you're gone, Barry Allen."

"Yea, I actually wanted to talk to you about that." He told her, and Iris looked up at him in question.

"I was wondering if you wanted to come with me? Or at least for a night or two. Beth, my foster mom, her boss is having some kind of barbecue for the employees and their families. I was hoping that maybe you could come? Give me an excuse to introduce you to my family."

She smiled up at him, shaking her head at his ramblings. With his ears turning pink he hastily added, "Of course you don't have to. It's up to you."

"I'd love to meet you're family, Bear." Iris giggled.

"Yea?"

"Yea." She confirmed. "Besides, you've met my dad. It only seems fair I meet your family too."

"Ah, right. The day I had both West trying to apologize for things they couldn't help." Barry laughed.

….

 _A few weeks ago Iris had asked him if he would be willing to meet her father, who had apparently been asking her to invite her boyfriend to a family lunch since he had found out she was seeing someone. Barry had easily agreed, never even making the connection between the last name and the fact that her father was a detective until they arrived at Jitters for lunch and he saw him._

 _Iris' father Joe, on the other hand, recognized Barry's name the minute Iris first told him—which was part of why he had asked to meet him so early on in their relationship. That 11 year old kid had been stuck in his mind ever since he had arrested his father for murder 9 years ago. That had been a case which had haunted the detective every day since, and Joe needed some visual reassurance that the kid had turned out okay. He also had been hoping to have the chance to apologize to him, he had always had a nagging feeling that he had failed him somehow._

 _An apology of course, was only assuming that the kid recognized him. It had been so many years, and Barry had been so young. It was possible he might have forgotten the face of the cop who arrested his dad, and if Barry had forgotten Joe did not want to be the one to bring up those painful memories._

 _The minute Iris walked in with the boy though, Joe knew he remembered. The look on the kids face told him as much. Iris paused to look at Barry, apparently noticing the change in her companion._

" _You okay, Bear?" She asked him?_

" _Yea. Yea, fine." He told her, but her expression told him she wasn't buying it. "I'm fine, it's just you're dad is apparently the cop who arrested my dad. Just took me by surprise for a minute. That's all."_

" _Bear, I'm so sorry. Look, you don't have to do this. I'll understand if you don't—"_

 _To her surprise he started laughing softly. "Really, Iris. I'm okay. And besides, I wanna do this. It'll be nice to meet him again under better circumstances."_

" _You sure?"_

" _Positive." He confirmed._

 _They had only been there for a few minutes when Iris excused herself to use the bathroom, mouthing yet another apology to her boyfriend as she went. She felt bad for leaving him alone with her father, especially after what Barry had just confided in her. Joe took the opportunity to offer his apologies as well._

" _Hey, Barry, listen. I know this is probably all kinds of awkward for you, but I've just gotta say I'm sorry. Ya know, for what happened 9 years ago."_

" _Yea, well I'm getting the feeling this isn't exactly an ideal conversation for you either." Both mend gave an awkward laugh and Barry continued. "Look, Detective West, I get it. I'm not mad. I mean, maybe I was a little mad for the first couple of years, but I'm not that kid any more. I get it, the evidence was pretty damming. And it was your job. You were just doing your job and what you thought was right."_

" _I have always felt like there was somethin' more I could've done, should have done, for you. In this job, there's always gonna be a few cases that haunt you. That case was one of the ones that haunts me. You were the same age as Iris at the time, and maybe that's why it always bothered me so much, but I could never shake the feeling that I let you down."_

 _The younger man nodded, absorbing his words. "You did, everything you could have done. I was lucky enough to find a good family. And I really am okay."_

" _I think the universe worked out the rest on its own." Joe said with a grin, trying to lighten the heaviness of the conversation. "You and Iris?"_

" _Yea." Barry laugh. "It would seem that the universe has a strange sense of humor. Kind of glad it does though."_

 _Joe merely smiled at the kid as his daughter returned from the restroom. The kid had been right when he said he wasn't that same 11 year old boy any more. He really had grown up in the past 9 years, and truth be told Joe would have never recognized him had he seen him on the street. But the important thing was, Barry did genuinely seem to be okay, and that was what Joe needed to see._

….

The train came to a stop at the Coast City station, the conductor announcing that the doors would open for the passengers momentarily.

"Are you sure your family is alright with me crashing in the guest room for the week?" Iris asked for what must have been the tenth time since they boarded the train early that morning. "Honestly, I'm completely fine staying in a motel."

Barry laughed as he pulled their luggage down from the storage compartment. "Well are not making you sleep in a motel for a week when we have a perfectly good guest bedroom that you can stay in for free." He told her, passing his girlfriend her suitcase.

"Maybe. But I'm still asking them when I meet them, just to be sure."

"Assuming they ever stop gushing about you actually being real." He joked. "I'm pretty sure they still think I'm making you up."

Iris laughed as they made their way to the train doors. "So you keep telling me."

Together the young couple stepped off the train and onto the platform, Barry stretching out his neck to see over the heads of the people in the crowd, scanning their faces as he searched for his family. Being as tall as he was, it didn't take him long to spot them across the station. He took her hand, lacing his long fingers through hers, and led her through the crowd. "Come on."

"Hey, guys!" He called as he got with in hearing range of his foster family.

The older couple turned towards the sound of his voice, both breaking into a wide grin. "Barry!" the woman said crossing the remaining distance to meet them, her husband following suit. When she reached the young couple, she immediately wrapped Barry in an embrace with he easily returned. "It's so good to see you're smiling face again."

"She acts as if it's been years." The man behind her said, moving to greet Barry with an embrace of his own, before turning to his wife. "Really, Beth, it's only been a few months."

Barry laughed as the woman—Beth—responded. "Before college we saw him everyday Chris. I miss him while he's away." It was then that she seemed to notice Iris, her attention turning to the young woman standing beside her foster son. "And who might this lovely young lady be?"

Barry's entire face lit up at the mention of the young woman standing beside him, who he also deemed to be incredibly lovely. "This is my girlfriend, Iris West." He said proudly. "Iris, these are my foster parents, Beth and Chris."

"Iris, it's so nice to meet you!" Beth said with a smile, and instead of going to traditional root of shaking a person's hand upon first meeting them, the woman opted instead to pull Iris forward into a hug. An action which caused both men to laugh as Iris returned the embrace giving a laugh of her own.

"She's a hugger." Chris said with a laugh, shaking the young woman hand. "It's nice to meet you, Iris."

"So I've noticed." Iris laughed. "It's nice to meet you both too."

"It's have to be honest with you." Beth said, "We half thought Barry was making you up so we'd stop trying to send him on blind dates."

"Yes, their lack of confidence in my ability to find a girlfriend on my own is truly astounding." Barry laughed as he and Iris collected their bags once again.

"You know," Iris said with a laugh, looking towards her boyfriend, "I _really_ thought you were joking about that."

"Sadly no." He told her, laughing and shaking his head as the group made their way to the car.

"Well care about you Barry." Chris said, "And we worry—especially Beth. We just want you to find someone and be happy."

"Trust me guys," Barry confirmed while loading their luggage into the truck of the car, looking at his girlfriend with a wide, proud smile. "I am happy. Really, really happy."


	6. Chapter 6

Linda pulled up the zipper on Iris' dress and smiled at her best friend in the mirror. "It's sort of crazy, don't you think?" The short brunette asked. "That we're graduating today?"

"It doesn't even seem real." Iris agreed with a soft laugh.

"It seems like we were just moving into our dorms yesterday." Linda laughed, half joking and half serious.

"Don't go getting crazy." Iris said, looking over her shoulder at her friend. "Four years did not fly by that fast."

"Well, not exactly." Her best friend laughed. "But it was fast. I mean, we're graduating today. I've had three boyfriends, and a few one-night-no-strings-boyfriends. You have Barry have been together for three and a half years now. It's also sort of, well for lack of a better word, crazy."

"It really is." The journalism major said, turning to face her friend. "But it's the good kind of crazy. Right?"

"Definitely. Definitely the good kind."

Iris flashed her best friend a bright smile and moved to take her necklace from the jewelry box setting on her desk. She selected the one that Barry had gotten her for her birthday that year—a silver crescent moon with golden swirl designs etched in, the tips of the moon connected by a small golden heart charm—the tiny pendant resting just between her collar bone after she hooked it around her neck. She had saved the box it came in as well, which she kept in one of her desk drawers. In was a crème colored box with silver rose patterns. On the inside of the box was the phrase, "I love you to the moon and back." written in silver.

The phrase was why Iris had kept it. It was Barry, finding yet another way to tell her that he loved her, and this time it was in writing. Reading the little reminder that he loved her never failed to make Iris smile. She could still remember the first time he'd ever told her he loved her, and the first time she had told him—she doubted she would ever forget that moment.

They had been arguing about something early in their sophomore year. She had had an assignment for her journalism class, and was suppose to pick a local news story to write an article on. Most of her class mates had chosen interviewing the owners of local pet shelters and those who adopted from them, or interviewing people tailgating at a local sports event. Iris had chosen to do some investigative journalism, and had written a piece on exposing a local campus drug dealer. She had been particularly proud of that piece, and had even received an A+ on it, and as a result the student she had highlighted had even been investigated and arrested. Barry, however, had been on the edge of furious when she had told him.

" _Are you crazy, Iris? What if he had caught on to what you were doing?" Her boyfriend had yelled at her. "What if he had hurt you?"_

" _This is what I want to do with my life, Barry." She screamed back at him. "I loved working on this, and a lot of good came out of it. Okay? Yea, maybe I could have gotten hurt, but it was worth. That risk to me. I get you're my boyfriend, but you don't control my life. And this is my life, what I want to do with my life. And you knew that when we started dating. So why all of the protest all of a sudden, Barry?"_

" _Because maybe I'm just now realizing what it means!" Barry shot back defiantly, tears building in his eyes. "God, Iris, did you even pause to think what it would do to the people around you if something had happened to you? How much it would hurt the people who love you, Iris? How much it would hurt me?"_

 _He paused, taking a deep shaky breath, trying to compose himself again. Tear were building in her own eyes, as she looked at him._

" _Bear…" She whispered, her voice noticeably softening. She wouldn't apologize for what she wanted to do with her life, the good she had done with this article, but she was sorry for hurting him._

" _Iris, if_ anything _had happened to you… the idea of something bad happening g to you scares the hell out of me, alright? God, Iris, I just, I love you and I —"_

 _He froze midsentence, green eyes going wide and his pale face paling even more as the realization of what he had just said dawned on him. Her face seemed to mirror his, with her dark brown eyes going wide, softening at his words, her jaw loosening so her lips were slightly parted. Both of them had tears sliding down their stunned faces._

" _Bear—" she began again, her voice still soft, but he cut her off._

" _I—never mind. I didn't —forget I said anything." Barry stuttered out, seemingly embarrassed._

" _Barry!" She said louder, more sharply, in order to gain his attention. Once she had it, she continued, her voice softening again. "Di—did you really mean it?_ Do you _really mean it? That you love me?"_

" _I—yea. Yea, I do." Barry told her slowly, a soft and cooked laugh escaping through his tears. "I love you, Iris West. I am so in love with you, that I'm not even going to try and deny it, not that I ever could, even if I wanted to. And, I would never want to. I love you, Iris West."_

 _Iris took a slow, shaky breath. She was crying even hard now, though it was for an entirely different reason. Barry was continuing to ramble on nervously, something about him understanding if she didn't feel the same way or it was too soon for her. He was in the middle of explaining that he loved her and didn't want to lose her, that he would wait as long as she needed him too if she wanted until she was ready to say it back, when she decided he had nervously and impatiently waited for a response from her long enough. Letting out a choked laugh of her own she closed the distance between her and her boyfriend, throwing her arms around his neck and cupping the back of his head in her hand so that she could pull him down towards her, effectively silencing his nervous rambling by catching his bottom lip between hers._

 _Reflexively, his arms curled around her waist, holding her body against his as he returned the kiss. She felt him smile into the kiss, briefly, before she broke away. She leaned her forehead against his, keeping her body pressed firmly against his with no intention of moving away any time soon. Barry was wearing that same dopy smile he got everything she kissed him like that._

" _I love you too, Barry Allen." She whispered to him. "I think I knew the first time I met you, that you were the kind of guy I could see myself falling in love with someday. And it looks like I was right, because_ I am _in love with you, Bear."_

 _For a moment, he looked at her, dumbfounded. That same look he had had on their first date, for a brief moment the first time she kissed him, and even after they first started sleeping together. The look that told her that he still couldn't believe that she was really_ his, _that she was_ his girlfriend. _The look that. Said he was still in disbelief that she really wanted to be_ with him, _and she wouldn't have been surprised if anyone ever told her that they had seen her with that same look on her face when selecting was with him. But then his face lit up with that beautiful smile of his that always managed to a smile to her own face—his smile that was so bright she couldn't help but wonder if the sun was jealous of him for it—before he dipped his head down lower, kissing her again. A kiss that was filled with passion and love, which she eagerly returned._

….

"I can't get over this!" Cisco was saying from behind Barry, both roommates getting ready for the graduation ceremony. "Not only are we graduating college today, but we're both graduating with jobs! That is seriously insane!" the engineer laughed.

Barry nodded in agreement as he buttoned up his blue dress shirt. "Man, I can't believe you're gonna be working at S.T.A.R. Labs! That is insane all on its own."

"Says the guy who's gonna be working at the CCPN with his girlfriends dad."

"Yea, I still can't believe Joe got me that job." Barry laughed.

"Technically speak, Joe just got you the internship last summer." His friend corrected. "You got the job offer all on by our own by kicking ass in the CSI department while you were there."

"True. But still, he basically put his job on the line just to get me _an interview_ for the internship. I kinda feel like I owe him something."

"No, dude. I think he put his job on the line and vouched for you so you could have that interview because hefelt like _he_ owed _you_ something. I think that was his way of trying to make up for what happened when you were a kid. Let him have this one, alright?" The engineer said.

"Yea, alright." The CSI laughed, turning around to face his friend. He shook his head when he saw him. "Really dude?"

"What?" The young man asked. "Ain't no one gonna see what I'm wearing under my gown. You can bet your ass that I'm gonna be comfortable."

Barry could only shake his head and laugh. He knew Cisco hadn't planned to dress up today, but he still found it amusing. His roommate sat on his bed, tying the laces of his black Converse shoes. He wore a pair of beige dress trousers—because his ankles would be the only thing visible to the audience—and one of his favorite _Doctor Who graphic_ t-shirts. The CSI, who wore a pair of black dress pants, black dress shoes, and a blue button-down dress shirt, almost felt over dressed while standing next to him—almost. He knew he wasn't the only one who would be wearing dress clothes under his gown, just as he knew Cisco wouldn't be the only one to not bother dressing up.

"So…" Cisco began, a devilish grin appearing on his face. "Are you still gonna do it today?"

"Definitely." Barry confirmed with an excited smile.

"You nervous?"

The taller young man snorted, giving a nervous laugh. "Of course I'm nervous. Terrified, actually. Did you even need to ask?"

….

Nearly two hours later, the entire senior class was gathered in the area name where the ceremony was taking place. Both the Dean and the class president had already given their speeches, and now the classes Valedictorian stood before the microphone giving a speech of his own. A kid Barry had never really know all that well or talked to, despite having several science classes with him over the past four years. He was a short, scrawny kid—even more so than Barry—with dark thick framed glasses. He had thick, dark, and messy curly hair and a pretty prominent overbite, but he was wicked smart and had always been pretty nice. Over all, based on the few interactions they had had, Barry liked him. Edward Trollbie was the kids name, if he remembered correctly.

"…and so, my fellow classmates and dreamers." Edward was saying, "Scientists, entrepreneurs, doctors, writers, and every other major or career path you all may have chosen—today we graduate. Today, we step into the world as adults, and as people with careers who are willing to work hard so that they can make a difference—so that they can change the world…"

It truly was a nice speech, and what Barry had actually heard of it did seem to be pretty damn inspiring. But he mind was elsewhere, dreaming up all of the possible different out comes of how today could go. His mind worked to create dozens of sceneries—some that were amazing and made him hopeful, that made him extremely happy. Others were not so pleasant—some filled him with doubt and fear, and made his heart sink inside of his chest. And some possibilities seemed to meet the other two possible outcomes halfway—not exactly heartbreaking, though not hopeful either, but and outcome that he could still live with and accept. He was far too nervous to really listen to Edwards speech, no matter how inspiring and we'll written it seemed to be.

Barry tuned around in his seat, his green eyes searching the crowd of students for a familiar face. He knew he'd never be able to spot Iris, with her name being at the very end of the alphabet and the sheer number of graduates, his girlfriend was simply to far back and there were far too many people for him to even hope to find her in the group. He knew that, but still, he had at least been hoping to catch a glimpse of one of his other close friends—Cisco or Linda maybe. Hell, he would even settle for Lisa Smart at this point, who was Cisco's—well, she was his something. His roommate head never actually dated her, but they had met in the middle of their junior year and hung out a lot. Barry was pretty sure they had slept together a few times too—if the sock on their door knob causing Barry to have to crash in Iris' dorm on more than one occasion was any indication, especially given the fact that Lisa was often still there when he returned the following morning. Regardless, both Cisco and Lisa also insisted that they were just "good friends," though Barry was almost certain that "with benefits" was secretly attached at the end of their insistence.

Lisa had always been a bit, cold, to put it nicely. She had never been very polite to their group of friends, especially in the beginning of hers and Cisco's friendship. It wasn't necessarily that she insulted them or bullied them, it was the opposite actually. Lisa seemed to avoid them all together, distancing herself from them, and at times even Cisco. Slowly though, she warmed up to them, slightly. She began to offer them a smile and a "hello" as she passed them between class, and she stopped giving them icy glares when they hung out as a group and they tried to speak to her. She even started responding to them, and making small talk. Eventually, she came to consider them her friends too, just as they did her—even though it was never a close friendship. Cisco had explained to them one night why. She always seemed so distant, after they all expressed their lack of understanding of how he had gotten so close to her in the first place. Cisco wouldn't go into detail because he didn't want to betray her trust, but he had told them she had a rough past, a hard childhood, and a lot of family problems. Barry sympathized with her, he understood having a rough past.

In the end, Barry gave up his searching. It seemed that all of his friends were too far back and hidden in the crowd for him to find. Disappointed, he turned his attention back to the front, allowing his mind to wonder once again.

….

Iris couldn't help the slight feeling of disappointment. She knew, of course, that given her major graduating with a job offer was unlikely. Regardless, she had still been hopeful, which is why she felt a slight disappointment that she had not received any job offers. Linda had, however, and she was absolutely thrilled for her best friend who had been offered a position as a Sports Writer at CCPN. Linda had promised Iris that she would put in a good word for her once she built her credibility up enough. Iris was grateful for the gesture, but she knew it would take time for Linda to build her credibility up as a respectable writer, especially being a female in sports. She also knows that even if Linda does manage to recommend her, she herself would have to work her ass off just to even get their attention.

Barry of course had secured a job at the CCPD, thanks to her father. A fact which she was immensely grateful for, because it meant that she wouldn't have to worry about him moving away to a different city for his career. He would remain living in Central City with her, and she could see her boyfriend anytime that she wanted. She knew, with absolute certainty that she loved him with all her heart, and she hoped that she could spend her life with him, and she dreamed that she would one day bearable to marry him. Of course, she wanted to secure a permanent job of her own before they said "I do." She had a job now, as a barista at Jitters. The pay was decent, $10.00 an hour, and for now she was okay with that, but she wanted to do more than that with her life.

"…I know every one of you sitting here today will put into motion something that will change this world for the better, in your own unique ways…" their valedictorian, Edward Trollbie was saying, and Iris could only hope that his inspiring words would hold true for her too, just as she knew they would for her friends and boyfriend.

….

After the ceremony, Iris was posing for picture for her dad. Currently, he was in the process of snapping a shot of her and Linda, there arms wrapped around each other in a friendly embrace, both girls smiling brightly at the camera—Mr. and Mrs. Park taking pictures of their daughter and her best friend right along side of Joe. Barry and Cisco had already posed for pictures with their parents, and we're making their way through the celebrating crowd toward Iris, their families following them. Both of the boys had already unzipped their gowns—Barry had unzipped his gown so he could reach his pants pocket easier, and Cisco had said he felt strangled in his gown.

"Iris!" The CSI called as he approached his girlfriend, who turned to face him, smiling brightly as she recognized his voice.

"Barry!" She announced, bursting with excitement. "Finally! You are just in time for pictures, Mr. Allen."

The journalist reached out, grabbing her boyfriends hand and pulling him over for pictures. Smiling at Joe and his own family, he draped an arm over her shoulders as she looped both of hers around his waist. He wrapped both of his long arms around her in response, smiling wider as she leaned against him just as their families snapped the photo. The group took a few more photos, and soon enough Lisa joined in on the photos too, before Barry finally pulled Iris out of the groups line up, still staying near everybody.

"Iris, I uh, I actually wanted to talk to you about something, if that's okay?"

"Yea, of course, anything." She told him honestly. "Is everything okay?"

"Uh…" in his peripheral he saw Cisco wink, giving him two encouraging thumbs up, a wide grin on his face. "Yea. I mean, I hope so anyway."

Iris knit her brows together in question, looking at him. Her confusion only grew when she caught sight of her dad standing behind Barry. Her father had this odd smile on his face, one filled with pride, and she had the sneaking suspicion that he somehow knew what her boyfriend wanted to discuss with her. "Okay… I'm listening."

"I love you, Iris, you know that." He began nervously.

"I love you too, Bear." She told him.

"Right, I know. But um…" He paused, taking a deep breath, trying to calm down. "I love you, Iris. More than anything. And no offense to Cisco, but you're my best friend in the entire world. You mean everything to me, and I know that I can always count on you for anything and everything. When I need someone, I know you will always be there."

Taking another deep breath, he reaches to take both of her hands in his, rubbing gentle circles against the back of them with his thumbs. "And I can talk to you, so easily, about everything—whether it's serious or just joking around. You know me better than anyone else does, and sometimes I think you know me better than even I know myself."

Barry continued, biting his lips nervously. "What I'm trying to say, is that I know you probably want to wait until you get a solid job in your career—and I get that, completely, I do. And I will wait with you as long as you nod me to until that happens. But for right now, I love you Iris. And I want to know that you will always be a part of my live, for as long as I'm alive."

"So," He said as he let go of her hands and getting down on one knee. He paused to take a small black jewelry box out of his pocket, opening it up to reveal an engagement ring—a silver band set with a princess cut diamond and a smaller one on either side. "Iris Anne West, will you please marry me?"

Iris had covered her mother with both hands the moment got down on one knee, realization dawning on her. She had begun nodding as soon as he said her name, not a doubt in her mind that this was what she wanted. "Yes." Iris whispered through her tears—she had started crying while he spoke.

Barry, having half expected her to turn him down began stuttering out a response before he realized that she had accepted the proposal. "It's okay, I-wait, what? Yes? You said yes?"

"Yes, Barry." Iris confirmed with a soft laugh. "I said yes."

"Wha—" He breathed, still clearly shocked that she hadn't said no. "Seriously? Okay, so just to confirm, yes you want to marry me?"

"Yes, you idiot!" She laughed, leaning over and placing a hand on either side of his face and pressing her lips to his, kissing him. "I am in love with you Barry Allen. I want to marry you. I'd never say no in a million years."

He laughed, kissing her again. When they broke apart, he removed the ring from the box—carefully so as not to drop the ring with his trembling hands—and slide it onto her ring finger. He stood up and she threw her arms around his neck, kissing him deeply and passionately.

"I love you Barry Allen." She whispered when she pulled away for air, keeping her arms around her fiancé.

Barry, who now had his arms wrapped around her waist, smiled at her. "I love you too Iris West."


End file.
